All Those Times
by Kenpachi.and.Marco.Fan11
Summary: All those times that just seemed to click, because we're alike. Bad summary for certain.
1. Struck Down

**A/N: Because ff.n was being a real pain in the ass, I wasn't able to reply back to all the lovely reviews I received. Therefore, answered they shall be here.**

**Voldyne:**** Thank you for your kind words! I'm glad it at least made a starting point!**

**Toothless-the-nightfury:**** Prologue lengths have never been my strong point but I really need more practice with them. I promise to try and make each chapter as long as possible! Also, thanks for the alert!**

**MillionDollarNinja:**** I want to see where it goes too! Hopefully somewhere that reality can be shut out. =w=**

**Anyways, thanks to all of you that read the bad beginning! Now starts the chapters!**

**DISCLAIMER: ….nope, still don't.**

Hiccup always knew that killing a dragon in Berk was really the only way one could gain respect; kill a dragon, instant respect. For the teens, doing outstanding in dragon training could do that too; make everyone proud. He couldn't do either and thus, no respect. Even so, he wanted to make his mark on Berk (a good one for once), prove that he wasn't just Hiccup the Useless but someone his father could take pride in rather than keeping the boy under wraps in shame. No, he was going to make his father proud by killing a dragon on his own, training or not. And if killing a dragon was everything in Berk, why shouldn't he have a chance at it?

Hiccup wouldn't admit to lacking the muscle and build to handle any form of weaponry besides a knife, but he took pride in the art of forgery (the only thing he could do besides causing disasters.) He was good with his hands and a forge on hand each day. If he couldn't handle a hammer or an axe, even a bola, then why not make something that would do it for him? Day in and day out, the boy dug deep into his creativity and handiness, swimming through ideas while mentally sorting them. If he did this, then that wouldn't work but if aligned right with this and another thing…such thoughts swarmed Hiccup's mind.

The more he toiled with the possible project, the less space there was for sketching in his sketch pads. Scribbled through this and various other pieces of paper were designs, both failed and tweaked, of what this project would finally take form as. It would throw a bola, Hiccup decided, mainly because it was the easiest to handle and this would lessen the factor of weight. Besides, the "normal" Vikings always said the same thing: a downed dragon is a dead dragon. If that were the case, then all he needed to do was down the beast and the rest he could handle with a knife (something else he was proficient at, just not as well.) A bola would do the job perfectly, so long as the calibrations were correct.

Finally, Hiccup had a design all planned and figured out: it was be cylindrical in shape, holding inside a spring-loaded, slingshot-like mechanism. In theory, it sounded good, something easy enough to handle and he liked the idea of a challenge. For weeks, Hiccup spent hours in the forge bringing his theory to fruition, all the while dodging Gobber's questioning with the excuse that it was just "something to keep him busy." On slow days, he took it out for test runs, happy it worked but not so much about the four or so birds that had been unfortunate enough to encounter the soaring bola (it took "killing two birds with one stone" to a literal level.) After testing it a few times, he took it back to the forge to recalibrate and make slight but necessary changes.

And it was to his natural foul luck that upon completion of his project, Hiccup actually had to _wait _for a raid to happen. Of course, the one time he wanted a raid on Berk to occur, it didn't; story of his life. For days, he waited anxiously, waiting for his moment to shine and dispel his Hiccup the Useless title. That is, if everything went according to plan. Speaking of plans, did he really have one? It wasn't like he could just run out in the middle of a raid with his contraption! He'd (of course) manage to get in someone's way and cause disaster to Berk once again. On top of that, he'd then have to listen to his father hound him about it.

After what seemed like ages and ages (when really it was only a week), the dragons came back to Berk for a fine meal of sheep, or at least what they could manage to fly off with. Hiccup, with a rather inappropriate emotional reaction, was excited, besides the whole oh-dragons-are-attacking-again feeling. Finally, _finally, _he could prove that he was capable enough to bring down a dragon! But first, he needed to get to the forge and that itself would require quick dodging skills; dodging dragons _and _Vikings. Once he knew he could leave the boundaries of the house without a dragon sitting on his doorstep, he slipped outside and traversed his way through Berk towards the forge, avoiding fires and Vikings as he went. He had a plan now; how well thought out it was an entirely different story. The plan: get out, get to forge, wait for Gobber to leave (cuz they'll obvious need him in the field), head out to cliff edge, and set up. Oh and above all, try not to die. It sounded good enough and Hiccup concluded that it might just work.

And for the most part, the plan was a success. For a few moments upon entering the forge, Hiccup assisted Gobber in the repairing of weapons; he was never quite sure how some of those swords could be bent into such odd shapes. That aside, he busied himself with the monotonous tasks he did on a daily basis, waiting and glancing over at his mentor, just waiting for him to leave. Almost on cue, Gobber called the boy over, instructing him to "man the fort" while he switched his prosthetic hand to the axe attachment. Two seconds after the man was out of sight, Hiccup jumped into action, taking his project proudly and racing out of the shop, shouting hurried apologies over his shoulder to those waiting outside the forge. They could wait; he had been waiting far too long to pass up this opportunity. This was his moment, at long last.

With some more quick dodging and narrow escapes, he managed to cart his contraption to the cliff edge, setting it up in record time and watching the skies carefully for the beast he sought. Eyes darted back and forth over the stars, watching for any sign of distortion. Hiccup muttered under his breath for something that he could shoot at, preferably the Night Fury but downing any dragon would get him acknowledged, being Hiccup the Useless. He caught the quick but slightly noticeable disappearance and reappearance of stars, going in no particular pattern. Oh it was there alright; now came the tedious part of aiming correctly. He had one shot and one shot only unless he wanted to wait again, which he didn't, not at all. The Night Fury's screech echoed through the night air before one of the village's towers crumbled in a ball of electric blue fire, and for a brief second, Hiccup caught a glimpse at the beast. He squeezed his eyes shut and fired the bola, hoping for the best. The aftershock made him reel backwards and land on his backside, slightly dazed but otherwise alright. Oh but he was more than alright when the ear-piercing shriek of a caught Night Fury rang his ears and a sense of victory swelled up in his chest. He had done it! He actually _shot down a Night Fury! _This was sure to make his father proud! "Did _anyone _see that?" he exclaimed joyfully, simply ecstatic. Until, naturally, a Monstrous Nightmare reared its head right behind him, crushing his wooden project beneath its sharp claws. Hiccup's grin dropped to an uneasy look as he turned towards the beast. "Except for you."

**So yay! Hiccup shot down the sought-after Night Fury, as if we didn't already know that. w Before I get questioned, no, this is **_**not **_**a retelling-of-the-story fic. This skips through the portions of the movie that don't directly involve Hiccup and Toothless at the same time. *shrugs* Hey, this is a fic centered around their moments. Anyways, thanks for all the advice my reviewers gave and I hope to hear more ways to improve! Thanks for your feedback and for reading!**


	2. Mercy

**Soooo…how would everyone like another chapter update? Yes, no, maybe so? Whelp, here's one anyways! XD**

**DISCLAIMER: nope**

After what seemed like ages of wandering and searching, Hiccup finally caught sight of his prize. It was only a peek at first: he had been so surprised by the dragon that he immediately hid behind the boulder, an engrained instinct. Mustering up whatever courage he had, he slowly turned to gaze over the boulder to take a longer look. The dragon (the _Night Fury!) _was still, its wings and limbs entangled in the ropes of bolas. Had his launcher actually _worked_? Was there really a Night Fury lying there, almost at his mercy (he said almost because there was always a possibility he'd screw this up)? Hiccup felt his heart stick in his throat as he slowly crept out from his hiding place and overcautiously took a few steps towards the downed beast, fumbling for his knife tucked in his belt. Nope, he wasn't imagining it; the dragon was really there.

"I, I did it!" He couldn't believe it! "Oh this, this fixes everything!" He wouldn't be Hiccup the Useless any more! He might actually get some respect! "I have brought down this mighty beast!" His bubble was burst when the foot he had put on a frontal limb was shrugged off nonchalantly, causing him to stumble and fall over. So it still had some fight left in it; how not terribly surprising (it was a dragon after all.) As he got back to his feet, Hiccup took in the details of the beast before him. Black scales that give off a dull shimmer; perfect for its nighttime flights as camouflage. Its body is smaller than expected, smaller than a Nightmare or even a Zippleback but bigger than a Nadder, but it's broad and well built. Dull-pointed ridges along the spine and surrounding scales patterned in a dark gray coloration; better than some he'd seen on other dragons. Flaps of skin and scales along the two sides of an angular head, most likely external sensors and ears…maybe. Wings made of usual membrane but lighter in build and covered with the same dark coloring. Four limbs, each ending with talons that made the boy gulp. Bright green eyes, narrowed pupils-oh, it was staring at him!

Hiccup could only stare back at vibrant irises that stared back at him and for a split second, he felt his resolve begin to crumble. No, it was a dragon! He had to kill it! That was the Viking way! He tore his own eyes away and avoided its eyes by looking at the massive (compared to him at least) hulk before him. He could do this. This was everything he ever dreamed of doing! "I'm going to kill you, dragon," he breathed, trying to steel his voice; he knew it was futile though. "I'm gonna…I'm going to cut out your heart and take it to my father." Yeah, that would be proof alright; the villagers could tell a dragon heart from other creatures, having spilled their guts more than enough times. Hiccup felt his resolution dying again, feeling those eyes staring at him again. He squeezed his eyes shut, shutting out the world and hopefully the eyes prying at him. What did his father always say; think like a Viking? A Viking mentality, that's what he needed. …Or at least a Viking mentality pep talk. "I am a Viking," he assured himself. Green eyes snapped open and focused indignantly on the dragon. "I am a Viking!"

Hiccup knew he wasn't all that intimidating but he felt slightly insulted as the dragon simply groaned at his self-pep talk, probably something along the lines of _there is no way a scrawny thing like you is a Viking._ It irritated him, knowing that even a beast he had at his mercy was disregarding him as weak and not at all a Viking. Honestly, even this thing was going to hound him about it? Without a second thought, Hiccup raised his knife over his head, readying for a fatal strike. Now or never, it was now or never. He craved the respect of the villagers, praise from his father, at least a belonging place in the village; all he had to do was kill this dragon. Hesitantly, he opened one eye to look once more at the eyes boring into him before opening the other. The beast actually looked scared! It didn't show on any of its features but in its eyes, it pleaded to him. It didn't want to die, this he could understand, but…didn't it have to? Wasn't that what Hiccup had been taught from day one: all dragons have to die?

Why was such a task, one that Hiccup had waited his whole life for, becoming so difficult all because of those eyes? No, it had to be done. This was the only way he'd ever make it in life on this island; he had to kill the dragon. He sucked in a breath and shut his eyes again; he didn't want to look at those eyes when he did it. His muscles (or what he had at least) tensed as the dragon groaned in defeat and he heard its head thud against the ground. Was it actually resigning itself to its fate, to be killed at the hands of someone like him? Hiccup knew the dragons that raided the village never just _resigned _themselves to death; they always struggled and tried escaping. This Night Fury, why didn't it want to? It knew he was small and scrawny, that it could easily take him down without a fight. Why wasn't it fighting? Now he just felt like he was slaughtering a defenseless animal, not something that caused massive amounts of damage to Berk. Hiccup let his arms fall from the air to his sides, running his free hand down his face as he opened his eyes again. He couldn't do it; he couldn't bring himself to kill the dragon. Green eyes ran along the dragon's form, watching its chest rise and fall with what it probably thought would be its dying breath. They then fell on the ropes that entangled its body, restricting its limbs and wings in movement; they had done their job alright.

"I did this…" And Hiccup felt all the guilt from it wash over him. Yes he had downed a dragon, the rarest of them all, but couldn't make himself kill it. And now, the beast would be there forever, dying on its own before even a week passed. That was only if the bolas didn't come off at least. The boy stopped in his tracks as he turned to leave and looked back at the obviously superior being. The choice weighed heavily on his mind: to free it or not. If he wasn't going to kill, wouldn't it just be better to let it go so it could fly off and away from Berk? On the other hand, it would surely turn against him and most likely kill him for even considering killing it. Was this a win-win or a lose-lose situation? Hiccup cursed himself at the choice he made, turning on his heels and crouching beside the dragon. He saw its eyes shoot open out of the corner of his eye; it was obviously surprised he was cutting the binds away. One rope down, two ropes down, three ropes-

One manly shriek later, Hiccup found himself pinned to the ground by a massive paw on his chest with those same green eyes staring down at him. They weren't pleading any more; no, they were ticked. Oh yeah, this was definitely the end of the road for him, dying as a meal for a Viking's natural enemy. Yet the more he thought about it, the less Hiccup knew he would miss about Berk. He wouldn't miss the people (minus his father and Gobber) that tormented him daily, the scorns, the standards he would never be able to live up to…suddenly, dying didn't seem too bad. Even so, as the beast reared back, Hiccup couldn't help but feel terrified as razor sharp teeth flashed above him. Yup, done for, toast, deceased, desisted, and everything else referring to dying. Eyes shut, he braced himself for the worst…only to get a threatening Night Fury roar to his right ear. The weight on his chest vanished and he watched as the dragon darted away, spreading its wings and flying off uneasily deeper into the woods.

Once the initial shock of having been released by the beast wore off, Hiccup sputtered out a sigh of relief. He had actually _survived _a close encounter with a dragon; weak and scrawny Hiccup. Sure he hadn't killed it like he originally meant to but he was alive for Odin's sake! And as he shakily got to his feet, he couldn't get those jade eyes out of his mind. When he had stared into them, second-guessing his decision, it didn't see just pleading in those eyes. He saw weakness and fear; it didn't want to die. But most of all, he saw himself in those eyes.

**Yay! Hiccup didn't kill Toothless (because we didn't see that coming *sarcasm*) and Toothless didn't kill him (also expected)! Next chapter, we get to the start of their forming-a-friendship days. Thank you for reading!**


	3. Bonding: Day 1

**A/N: Back by popular demand! In an unfortunate occurrence (ff.n still giving me "outdated" links to reviews I can't reply to), the only way I have available to reply is through private messages. If you would rather I not do as such to you, please let me know and I shall cease and desist. In other news, yay for the beginning of the bonding days! Enjoy.**

**DISCLAIMER: do I really need to keep putting this up?**

Dragon training was something Hiccup had looked forward to since he was a child. Now that he had failed to kill a dragon, had a class session, and nearly gotten a fireball to the face, he wasn't so sure any more. "Remember, a dragon will always, _always_, go for the kill." That's what Gobber had warned them but as Hiccup sat there with the remnants of the bola in his hand, maybe that wasn't entirely true. There were stories of multiple species of dragons using humans as a food source but not all were that way. But then what reason would the other species have to kill people. …Oh yeah, because they were threat. Hiccup shook his head as he sat the bola rock back on the ground. He was going to give himself a headache at this rate. In any case, he never heard of anyone in Berk getting _directly _(a few _might _have gotten caught in the debris of collateral damage) killed by a Night Fury. Ugh, what was he thinking? That just because a Night Fury let him live means they're _all _like that? Sheesh, could he be any _less _of a Viking?

And yet here Hiccup was, wandering around the woods _again _and searching for a dragon _again_. Another thing he was beginning to question: _why _was he doing this? Why on earth would a dragon hide in woods when it obviously knew humans were around? The useless "what ifs" thinking was giving him a headache. Hiccup shook it off and continued wandering deeper into the woods, looking for…well, he didn't know either. Maybe he just needed to get out of the village for a little bit especially after the fiasco today (the others were giving him hassle about it.) And the woods were a good place to get away from everything, if you knew your way around them at least. Hiccup knew his way around (better than just about everyone in Berk) but as he glanced and turned at his surroundings, he realized that this was not-as-familiar territory. That was fine and who was to know? Maybe he could find somewhere new to relax in the woods (the other places had since been discovered.)

A new place indeed. Hiccup pushed past a few stray branches and set before his eyes was a cove. Lots of grass, bushes, cliffs, and a pond…lake, whichever body of water it was; everything a cove was. It was a long fall down and he could see that the cliff walls surrounding the cove were pretty high; it'd be a pain to climb out if he fell to the bottom. How was it that Hiccup knew these woods like the back of his little hand yet he didn't know there was something this colossal existed? Even so, he concluded that it was nice in addition to quiet; unwinding here would be easy considering how deep in the forest it was. And it was pretty big for an isolated cove, a really easy hiding spot for anything of any size. Wait… "Well this was stupid," Hiccup scolded himself as the corners of his mouth turned downwards. Had he really believed that that Night Fury would actually _be _here? Why on earth had he bothered getting his hopes-oh, something shiny.

Black scales, just a few, sat scattered a few feet from his boots. They were the same ones that covered the Night Fury's body; they shimmered blue as he turned it back and forth in the sunlight. So if the scales were here, then the dragon was sure to be around too. And (of course) not two seconds after that thought passed his mind did an ear-piercing shriek (it made his right ear sting in remembrance) echoed through the air. Hiccup jumped back from the edge as sharp talons grabbed at it and the boy found himself staring into green eyes again, though they didn't seem to notice him. The Night Fury was scratching at the cliff before it awkwardly flew off back to the ground; Hiccup took a wild guess that it wasn't happy judging by the growls and snarls. Maybe he didn't want to mess with it at the moment. But, being Hiccup, his natural curiosity refused to let him leave without watching the beast for a smidge longer; risky, but worth it. And then it hit him: his sketchbook! He was the first person to ever see a Night Fury; why the heck wasn't he drawing it? As quickly as he could manage (it was basically silenced by the dragon's apparent temper tantrum), the boy edged down to a ledge slightly below the one he stood on and crouched down, hopefully out of direct sight.

Hiccup fumbled with his tunic for a moment (excitement does this to people) before catching hold of his sketchbook and charcoal pencil. He glanced at the beast before turning down to the paper and drawing out the basic figure with vital details. The more he went back and forth from subject to paper, the lines he created just couldn't compare to its astounding yet terrifying beauty. Hiccup watched a little longer after his sketch was finished, somewhat entertained by the dragon's outrage. He (the boy had unconsciously decided to stop referring to the dragon as an "it") kept attempting to scale the cove's rocky walls before clumsily landing to the ground. "Why don't you just…fly away?" Hiccup wondered. Most, if not all, dragons had wings and it was for certain Night Furies had them. So why wasn't he just flying off? Surely cliffs walls weren't _that _much of an obstacle, not to something capable of shattering catapults by itself. As he watched, he noticed that at the very end of the dragon's tail were tailfins, er, tail_fin_ and smudged out the second one he'd drawn in his sketchbook. So it only had one; interesting.

The Night Fury seemed to give up after a final crash landing at the edge of the pond and (from Hiccup's perspective) was quite put-out with his lack of success. Hiccup arched a brow as the dragon inched closer to the pond, obviously watching something (he could only assume a fish.) He had to bite his tongue to keep a slight chuckle at bay as he observed the also-obvious fishing failure made. So he liked fish; also interesting. To Hiccup, everything about the dragon was interesting, mainly because everything he was observing wasn't found anywhere in books in Berk; everything here was a foreign concept. It was…enticing almost. Sure he still held that slight fear of the beast in the back of his mind but the rest was drunk off his watching. Nobody else knew what the boy was learning, probably never would, and it gave Hiccup almost a sense of _accomplishment_. It was something only he had done, just sit and watch a "wicked devil" (to quote the villagers) rather than killing it. Talk about feeling proud over the littlest of things.

Given his lack of attention to anything besides the dragon, Hiccup failed to notice his charcoal utensil roll from his hand, down the rock ledge he sat on, and begin a descent to the ground. He made a futile attempt to grab but it was just that: futile. It clattered to the ground below and he froze up as the beast also took notice and locked eyes with him. He (the dragon) didn't have the same roar-I'm-going-to-eat-you face that he did on their first encounter; rather, he looked…curious. Apparently, so did Hiccup. And as they just stared at each other dumbly, he tilted his head to the side to express his curiosity. Surprising enough, the other being imitated the action. Oh now they just looked even dumber, staring with heads tilted and curious expressions! Hiccup's mind (the only part _not _entranced) warned him of the dark rainclouds overhead and yelled to get back to Berk before he regretted it. Cautiously and taking slow steps, he edged his way back up to the cove's entrance with a stumble here and there. It wasn't until the dragon was nearly out of sight did Hiccup finally tear his eyes away and run back towards the village.

**So I meant to get this up last night but unfortunately, things didn't go according to plan (haha, Corpse Bride reference.) Therefore, here it is, over a day late! I'm debating whether or not I want to cover the whole dragon book scene because I have **_**some **_**ideas for it **_**but **_**it doesn't directly involve the story's purpose. So, should I cover it or not? I'll leave it up to you folks. Anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing!**


	4. Bonding: Day 2 Pt1

**Let's start off with my apologies. I realize that it's been a week since my last update so here's one now!**

**DISCLAIMER: meh, the usual.**

Hiccup's hands felt gross, slimy, and cold from carrying a raw fish from Berk, through the woods, and to the cove entrance. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't do such a pointless thing but raw fish seemed to be what the Night Fury preferred food-wise and maybe it couldn't hurt to try and get on his good side; fish seemed like a good peace offering. A few instances on the travel to the cove, there had been moments of it slipping out of his hands, or _hand_. Experienced or not, the boy knew better than to approach a free dragon without some form of protection; as such, he "borrowed" a shield that hung on one wall of his home. It wasn't much but it would suffice and hopefully keep him from dying. Unlike his two previous run-ins with the dragon, Hiccup _actually _had a plan: just get to the cove and toss the Night Fury the fish from behind the safety of the shield. Yes, _surely _that would work _perfectly _with his natural-born luck. Hiccup did have one stroke of luck in the fact that he remembered the way to the cove (which wasn't that great of an accomplishment unfortunately.) That was a relief because he wasn't sure how much longer he really wanted to be carrying this fish.

The cove didn't seem as big as he remembered from a few days ago, probably because Hiccup didn't see the Night Fury anywhere. Less than gracefully, he climbed down from the entrance to the landing where he had sketched; the fact that both of his hands were occupied didn't help the process much. Little by little and ledge by ledge, the boy managed to climb down to the cove itself (though he did fall the last few feet.) Cursing his terrible luck, Hiccup inched his way over to two boulders where a gap allowed into the landscape; on his knees no less. Okay, he could do this. All he had to do was throw a fish to a dragon…that wasn't in plain sight. Great… Poking his eyes up above the shield's upper rim, Hiccup surveyed the area one last time for the Night Fury before lifting the fish and tossing it (rather feebly one might add) into the open. And as he stared at it, he just knew it wouldn't like the way this was going. With a heavy sigh, Hiccup made a move to slip between the two hefty rocks only to have the shield become wedged in the way. Of course, _nothing _could go perfectly! He crawled underneath the shield into the cove and gave it another tug. Nope, it wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. With another sigh, he turned back to the fish lying a few inches away. Directly and intentionally approaching a free-roaming dragon with a potential meal in hand without a shield; oh yes, _this _was going to be a real joy.

Hiccup was less than pleased to slide his fingers into the fish's slimy and rather _dead _gills; nothing like that to make one's day. It made him wonder why exactly he was doing this, giving a fish offering to a Viking's mortal enemy. Probably because the dragon was the closest thing he had to a _friend_, even though the creature could very well wipe him off the face of the world. How pathetic was he, finding companionship in a beast that he had been too much of a coward to kill? He would've laughed if he wasn't so on edge. Hiccup couldn't spot the Night Fury anywhere as he treaded further into the cove, watching each step and looking around. Okay, how hard was it really to find a black dragon in broad daylight? At night, yes it could be understandable if he couldn't find it, but in high noon? There was no excuse for that. And that's when Hiccup heard it, the faint sound of talons scraping across rock, and turned _very _slowly to find said black dragon sliding down from his rocky perch. He looked curious, ear plates perked slightly and pupils more than just tiny slits. Hiccup concluded that he probably wanted to know why he was invading the cove with a fish in hand; who wouldn't want to know? As the dragon slowly touched ground, the boy watched curiosity slide over all his features, like he was dropping his guard for the fish in hand. Hesitantly, Hiccup extended the hand that held the fish, a sign that it was indeed for the dragon. That seemed to appeal to him as he crept closer and closer until he stopped and jumped back with a snarl. Surely he hadn't done something this early in the encounter to tick off the beast! That's when Hiccup remembered the knife he had tucked in his belt and pulled at his fur vest to reveal said weapon; the dragon's jade eyes narrowed. The second his fingertips touched the hilt, a threatening growl was sent his way, daring him to even _try _attacking with it. So the boy backed away a few steps, plucked the knife from his belt by just his thumb and index finger, and dropped it to the ground. Satisfying, but not enough for the dragon; he motioned for him to sink it in the pond. Hiccup didn't even sigh at the loss as he nudged it onto his boot and tossed it into the pond; the resounding _sploosh _didn't help much.

On second thought, it did help win the Night Fury's trust because the second he saw that knife slip into dark waters, he sat back on his hunches, eyes wide and expectant with ear plates perked straight up. Hiccup almost couldn't believe what he was seeing; something that had given him multiple heart attacks wearing such an innocent, almost _cute, _expression. He shook his head, dispelling all thoughts of _cute _from his mind before holding the fish out once more with both hands. The dragon gazed at it for a moment and crept closer (in quite an odd, sideways motion), opening his mouth. He was only a foot away when Hiccup noticed something interesting. "Huh, toothless." And sure enough, there was not a sharp, dangerous fang to be seen; just gums and a forked tongue. Wait… "I could've sworn you had-" Said fangs shot up from empty gums and hungrily snatched the doomed fish from the boy's hands; Hiccup double-checked briefly that he still _had _his hands. He watched the fish get swallowed half by half, feeling his previous meal threaten to make him ill. "Teeth…," he finished, heart racing. The dragon ran his forked tongue over his lips briefly before turning to the boy curiously and wandering closer to Hiccup's both interest and horror; interest only because he made this purr-sounding noise as he did. Feeling the rock behind his back didn't make Hiccup feel any better as that would've been his otherwise only escape route: dragon in the front, rock in the back. Thoroughly done for if the beast chose as such; ….or maybe he was just curious if there were more fish. "No, no, no," Hiccup assured hastily, weighing his chances of getting around the rock at his back; the Night Fury was only a few inches from his face now. "I don't have any more." And he braced himself for…hacking?

Hiccup opened one eye then both in time to have a fish's tail end regurgitated into his lap; oh, his stomach was flips and knots now. He tried not to sound too disgusted as he sat up better, causing the half fish to roll in his lap a bit. Tearing his gaze from the nasty, dead thing invading his space, the boy looked back at the Night Fury. He had since sat back on his hunches again, staring back at him expectantly. They stared at each other for quite some time and Hiccup could only wonder what the other was expecting him to do. Unless… He had broken his gaze away long enough to stare at the cove but turned it back to the larger being in front of him. The dragon looked at the fish in his lap then back at him. Oh gods no! Okay, weigh the options: eat the mostly-devoured, regurgitated fish covered in slime, dragon saliva, and who-knows-what else and possibly live _or _see if it was possible to escape the creature. ….This was a Night Fury; he had to eat the fish. Hiccup sighed heavily, almost bemoaning his fate as he raised the fish to his mouth and reluctantly took a (larger than intended) bite. Oh it tasted much fouler than what raw fish usually tasted like; gods, it was awful! But he played it off well, nodding that it was good (which earned him a positive response) before extending it back to the dragon. He didn't so much as glance at it as he nodded to the boy to actually _swallow _it. Okay, _now _he could bemoan his fate. Hiccup made a sound to voice the _oh you can't be serious _but grudgingly complied, forcing the disgusting flesh in his cheeks down his throat; naturally, it came back but he forced it down _again._ He gagged and felt like washing his mouth out with soap but at the dragon's inquiry of its tastiness, he just gave him an awkward smile.

It was strange, the look he received, an expression he'd never seen on the dragon. Hiccup watched with slight fascination as the corners of the dragon's mouth twitched upwards erratically; was he trying to _smile_? He had managed, at the very least, an equally awkward smile, but lacking the fangs; a toothless smile. For whatever reason, Hiccup outstretched his bare hand to him (why, he didn't know) and was met with the fangs' return and a low growl. The Night Fury snorted and ran off to the opposite side of the cove; obviously it would take a bit more patience and numerous fish to become friends.

**I managed to finish this relatively quick! I was busy during the last few days of last week and this week but I finally finished this! I split this day into two parts because I'm out of time and I wanted to get this up quick. As always, thank you for reading and review!**


	5. Passing Time

**A/N: I know I'm a terrible person for not updating in forever, putting stories on unannounced hiatuses, and because I ultimately fail at life. But if there are still some of you following this, you rock. I could go on and on with excuses (ill, damaged hands, college, etc.) but that's not what this is about.**

**This chapter isn't movie-set (yay, something slightly original) so it's relatively…something. Anyways, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: bleh**

WHEN WAS THAT OVERGROWN SALAMANDER GOING TO WAKE UP? Ever since Toothless (what Hiccup had unofficially _named _the dragon) had gotten fed up with dealing with him and proceeded to leave for a nap (hanging upside down from a tree branch no less), Hiccup had been bored out of his skull. He sighed and glanced up at the sky from the spot on the ground he was occupying; only an hour had past if he had to make a guess, maybe not even. Argh, curse his short attention span! What on earth was he supposed to do in a place with gigantic rock walls in the middle of the woods, explore? …actually, that would suffice, for a while at least. Hiccup rose to his feet, stretched his legs momentarily, and wandered off. It's a giant cove; there was sure to be something interesting around!

Of course, interesting was possibly getting a new definition. Rock, bush, rock, rock, tree, dead fish (why didn't Toothless just _finish _the accursed thing?) and oh look! More rocks. "Okay, so maybe there is nothing," Hiccup muttered, kicking a small rock into the pond. He looked back over at Toothless. Yup, still dozing; great. The boy was still having a hard time processing that the dragon hadn't killed him yet; surely that was what all dragons did, or were _supposed _to do. Hiccup didn't have _extensive _knowledge on dragons but he was pretty sure they weren't supposed to let humans get close without either killing or eating them (and frankly, the latter sounded like a much worse fate.) And the more he thought on it, the more he questioned: surely dragons didn't have standards to live up to as well, did they? If that were the case, then their races weren't all that different. Maybe they didn't have to fight if everyone could realize that. "Now I'm just being a fool," Hiccup muttered, laughing at himself. Vikings and dragons living together, without killing each other? Yeah, he might as well keep dreaming; that was completely unheard of. But honestly, it didn't seem all that far-fetched. He thought of how useful dragons could be if a truce was met, how the casualties of villagers would plummet, and the beasts wouldn't have to die. And he wouldn't have to worry about someone killing Toothless, basically the only individual he could really see as a friend (now he _was _going crazy.)

Hiccup took his sketchpad from his tunic and sat down a fair distance from the snoozing dragon. When in doubt, sketch. He followed the contours of the sleek form with his eyes before relaying them to paper to the best of his ability. Even at his best, it still felt like nothing could compare. The more lines he drew to finish his sketch, the more Hiccup's mind traveled back to the whole "Berkians and dragons at peace" concept. He wouldn't have to worry about keeping Toothless a secret (it was actually a legitimate concern) or keeping the others from finding him. "Who am I kidding?" Hiccup murmured, looking up from his finished drawing and back to Toothless. "There's no way my kind and your kind would ever get along." But weren't they already? He was still alive, even after encountering the Night Fury for the third time, and were getting along (somewhat, moderately speaking.) If he could do it, then why couldn't everyone else? Oh right, because he wasn't "normal" by Viking standards. Abnormal, Hiccup thought bitterly as he began another sketch. Yeah, seems fitting for a failed Viking. Yeah, and to add to it, I'm trying to befriend a dragon! I've lost it! "I guess even if the villagers found out, they wouldn't find it that strange. I was never a proper Viking to begin with." But if not being a "normal" Berkian meant he had someone like Toothless who could tolerate him for an extended period of time, then maybe it was worth it.

**I know this chapter is fairly shorter than the others but this was really the only spot I could cut it off without it being awkward and abrupt. So the next chapter will cover the reminder of this little day of bonding. Until then, thank you very, very, very, very much for your patience and I hope you keep reading (I can understand if you don't.)**


	6. Bonding: Day 2 Pt2

**A/N: My apologies, to a large extent. I lost my inspiration BUT it is back. So I guess this would qualify as a late Christmas present? Who knows but that's not important. In any case, here's an update and happy, merry, whatever holiday everyone celebrates this time of year.**

Hiccup had lost track of time ages ago. All he knew was that he'd been here for hours, the sun was setting, and that he had run out of space in his sketchpad. Now at this point, anyone else would give up and go home; Hiccup isn't "anyone else." So he rose to his feet, stretched a little, and wandered around again. Toothless hadn't moved an inch since he sulked off to ignore him so he was still left with nothing to do. "Maybe he's nocturnal," Hiccup wondered aloud as he peeked over his shoulder at the dragon. But the more he thought about it, wandering about, it didn't make much logical sense. If Toothless was nocturnal then why was he awake in the daytime in the first two meetings? So Hiccup gave up on that theory almost as fast as he had thought it up.

The boy poked around the bushes surrounding the perimeter of the clearing. He knew he was out of paper but he still had that itch to sketch and ultimately decided that a stick and the dirt would have to suffice. Hiccup parted the branches in the bush before him, gaze darting about to find the right length. Nope, but there were a few more black scales in there. With a sigh, he let go of the branches to search other foliage. He hadn't taken two steps to the side did his boot catch on something and he fell flat on his face. It was just one thing after another, wasn't it? Hiccup grumbled as he sat up, pulling back his foot from the hold of the bush's roots. And as he did, a stick, looking to be just the size he was looking for, caught his eye. Now speaking like a true crazy person, if a bush had tripped you, odds are that one shouldn't try to take anything from said bush. But that was if one was crazy, and Hiccup didn't think he was _that _crazy. Not yet of course, not with the way he was going.

So he reached in to pull the stick back and into his grasp. It at least felt like what he needed to sketch, something that fit nicely in the palm of his hand. Satisfied, the boy drew it out, or at least _attempted _to. "Really?" Hiccup asked flatly, tugging at the caught stick. "Even the _plants _are out to get me?" As if to answer, the bush let go of the desired object and caused Hiccup to fall onto his back. "Apparently they are," he grumbled, frowning. He laid there for a few moments, staring up at a sky of orange and red; midnight blue was edging in from the east. Briefly he wondered if maybe it was time to go back to the village, since it was getting late. Maybe someone was wondering where he had gone off to. Hiccup paused on that thought and laughed sharply at it. Ha! He'd be surprised if someone actually _noticed _he wasn't around! Maybe he'd stop being so cynical one of these days; maybe.

Dusting himself off and picking up his newfound drawing utensil, Hiccup meandered for a prime spot to sit and sketch. Anyone could pick a spot and draw but the soil had to be just right for him to draw; not too wet and not too dry. The stick dragged at his side as he wandered, nudging the ground every-so-often to check if it was right. Finally, Hiccup perched himself atop a semi-flat rock (wasn't terribly comfortable but he'd sat on worse) and stared at the ground. He knew what to draw (the same thing that filled his sketchpad) but the problem was where to start. It was dirt so he didn't want it too detailed so he needed to limit what he drew. But to what extent? This was making his head hurt more than it possibly needed to. Hiccup prodded the ground with his stick, making small indents before connecting the indents to make lines. Well that was a start. He continued to scrape lines across the ground's surface, not as primp or straight as the ones in his sketchpad. Shortly after, they all connected to form the Night Fury's angular head. Definitely not as good as the ones in his pad. Hiccup was just about to dot in some eyes when he sensed a presence at his back and froze. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Toothless sitting there, obviously watching. Not wanting to disappoint (or become dinner,) he penciled in oval-shaped eyes, trying his best to make them look right. A sound similar to a cat's purr resounded from behind him and he was relieved that it was satisfactory. Hiccup's expression turned to confusion as he heard Toothless tromp off and soon it changed to curiosity as the loud "snap!" of a branch breaking echoed. So he turned to look.

It wasn't a branch that had snapped. In his mind, it was more like a small tree. And Toothless had it locked in his jaws, held by razor sharp teeth. Hiccup would've been more astounded had he not felt rather uneasy about that. Even so, he watched as Toothless dragged the small tree (it was by no means a stick so he wasn't calling it that) along the ground; it was almost like he was mimicking his drawing actions. It was curious and fascinating to watch, a dragon drawing. Hiccup tried to guess what on earth the beast could be drawing but it was difficult to see from where he sat, or at all for that matter. But he smiled just a tad at Toothless's rather excited behavior. He didn't seem all that scary when he had, what Hiccup would assume to be, a cheerful expression. The boy was knocked out of his daze as he was whacked in the back of his head by the branches of the small tree. Okay, maybe Toothless's excitement made him happy to an extent.

Hiccup stood as Toothless dropped his drawing utensil and nodded approvingly at what he called a drawing. To the boy, it looked more like scribbles. There wasn't a single straight line and they overlapped like crazy. What could it possibly be? Hiccup continued to look as he took a step forward, only to freeze as Toothless growled at him. What had he done this time? He glanced down at his foot. It rested on one of the lines the dragon had enthusiastically drawn. His gaze shifted back to Toothless as he raised his foot from the line. All at once, Toothless's expression changed back to innocent and, dubbed, "cute." Well now, that was strange. As a test, Hiccup stepped on the line again; Toothless growled again. Ah, so he didn't like that at all. Well, once more for good measure. The Night Fury crouched down with a snarl, daring him to try it again. Hiccup wasn't going to try his luck this time and stepped _over _the line, careful to not step on the lines around it. Toothless sat upright again with a purr. And for some crazy reason, Hiccup smiled. Alright, he could do this without being dinner. Maybe.

Watching where his feet touched, Hiccup twisted and turned to avoid every line. Why was he doing this? He didn't know. He also wouldn't admit that he was actually having fun. Sure it made him dizzy, all the spinning and twisting, but something about it made him want to laugh. Maybe it was because he knew he probably looked ridiculous. Maybe it was because this was the closest he had ever been to dancing (since he was horrible at it and no one ever asked.) Was he weird for finding this enjoyable? Most likely but who was around to judge him? Toothless didn't seem fazed at all and no one in the village knew of this place. What did he have to worry about? Hiccup laughed a little as he spun though he probably shouldn't have; he was starting to feel slightly ill. He prided himself in making it across the maze of lines without stepping on a single one (he came close a few times and nearly fell on his face to avoid them) yet he stopped abruptly as a somewhat familiar presence was felt at his back; he slowly turned.

Toothless sat there, only inches from him, head cocked and watching. Hiccup couldn't understand it. Why did he seem so okay now when only hours ago he was super hesitant to approach the boy? Maybe… Hesitantly, he reached out to the dragon again, extending out his hand. Toothless backed way just a bit and growled as a warning, flashing a few of his fangs. The human drew back his hand and the Night Fury slowly eased down. They were still so cautious to approach each other; one couldn't trust the either. Hiccup wanted to trust Toothless and also receive his trust. Right now, even though they were still slightly at end, he had ultimately concluded that this dragon, the mortal enemy of his village, was the closest being he had to a friend. No one in Berk made him smile or laugh like he just had; only Toothless.

So Hiccup took a chance. He took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut as he extended his hand out to Toothless again. He couldn't watch if the dragon decided to bite his hand off. But if he wanted to earn Toothless's trust, he had to show it first. His arm was completely straight, palm facing out. By his calculations, his hand was mere centimeters from the dragon's snout. He could feel breath hit his sweaty palm and braced himself for pain. Hiccup flinched as something warm touched his extended hand and slowly opened his eyes to look. Toothless had moved just enough that the boy's hand touched his scales. He too opened his eyes before backing away with a look that said "get out of my cove" and zipping off. Hiccup was in absolute shock, looking down at his palm. He had actually managed to touch a dragon, one that was alive, and hadn't lost his hand. Had he made it clear that he wanted Toothless to trust him? He could only hope so.

**A/N: Sorry this took six months to update and I apologize profusely. But, here it is in all its horrible glory. I do hope you'll enjoy and don't hesitate to tell me how bad it is or if I'm doing this right. XD**


	7. First Flight

**A/N: I have received some complaints that this fic is a little hard to read due to the spacing. I will try to fix this but if I can't…I might need some help with fixing it. XD Anyways, here we are and hopefully the spacing here will fix the problem. C:**

It was way too early to be doing this. The sun was hardly out and the fog was still spread out across, well, everywhere. And it was freezing; typical Berk morning. None of the villagers were awake, still snoring away in their warm homes. But no, here Hiccup was, out in the freezing cold with a rod in hand. Anyone would've known what he was doing but not why or what had possessed him to actually sit there, still as could be. Fishing wasn't a strong suit of Hiccup's mainly because his attention span was much too short for it (he'd already lost a number of fish due to spacing out) but whether someone would believe it or not, he had a reason for sitting there so painstakingly at such an hour: he was bringing Toothless breakfast. Yeah, he had to be all kinds of crazy to do such a thing but Hiccup had decided that this was his best chance at getting the Night Fury to completely trust him. Breakfast, and maybe the little something he had stayed up all night making.

Sitting to his left was a long steel rod with a jagged-cut piece of leather sewn to it; inside the material were thin spines. To those who looked at it, it had no shape and just a waste of materials. However, to Hiccup, it had the exact shape he was looking for: tailfin shape. He glanced over at it, just to make sure it hadn't gone anywhere, before turning his eyes back to the lake. After his last run-in with Toothless, his class had sat around a fire, listening to Gobber's stories (something about losing limbs? He hadn't paid much attention.) Hiccup had only sat there, watching the flames flicker back and forth as he thought, about things he would never say aloud. But something their mentor had said pulled him from his daze and dropped a heavy ball of ice in his gut: "It's the wings and the tails you want. If it can't fly, it can't get away." And the ever said "A downed dragon is a dead dragon." Hearing it had finally made Hiccup realize why Toothless couldn't fly away all those times, why he couldn't even scale the walls of the cove: his tailfin. When the boy drew out his first sketch, it wasn't that Night Furies only had one fin but that one had been sheared off. The time between the raid and when Hiccup found the dragon was minimal meaning that it had been sheared when Toothless had been struck down. That meant Hiccup had taken away Toothless's flight. It was his fault.

And for what? Because he wanted to prove to the village that he was capable? That he wasn't some waste of human flesh? That he could actually do something right? Yeah, like that mattered now, not when he was keeping Toothless a secret from everyone. The guilt of that had begun eating him alive and he decided that he would help Toothless get his flight back; the tailfin was a start, and maybe an apology. Hiccup shook his head with a sigh, pulling up _another _snapped line. He really needed to stop spacing out all the time. The boy peeked over the rim of the weaved fishing basket sitting to his right; dead fish peeked back at him. "If that isn't enough, nothing is," Hiccup concluded, and briefly wondered how in Odin's name he was going to get that all the way to the cove.

Not easily was the correct answer. The moment the basket strap planted itself on his shoulder, Hiccup felt his spine overextend; not something it should do. "Maybe this wasn't my best idea," he ground out, taking each step slowly. Tucked under the arm that _wasn't _about to break was the artificial tailfin. _That _he didn't want anything happening to; he'd lost a whole night of sleep on that. "Let's add that to the 'bad ideas I've had in the last day' checklist." It was common sense to have _some _sleep in one's system when going against an angry dragon; Hiccup was lacking both sleep and some of his common sense. Common sense or not, nothing quite compared to the relief of seeing the cove entrance; his shoulder would've sighed happily if it wasn't screeching in pain. But as everyone knew and knows, good things don't really last with Hiccup because as soon as he reached the cove entrance, all the relief died and was replaced with miserable realization: he still had rocks to climb down.

"Oh for Odin's sake," Hiccup growled as he inched down to the first rock. He tried not to shift the dead weight (he would've kicked himself for that pun) too much to avoid tumbling all the way to the cove floor while likely hitting each rock along the way; he preferred to _not _die in such a way. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Toothless curled up in one corner of the cove, thankfully not far. The boy sidled down to the next ledge; half way down. Yeah, he could do this. Without dying, yes. Without possible injury, questionable. Hiccup made a mental note that the next time he did this, he was going to do two things: one, fish closer to or _at _the cove and two, not catch as much. Well, he thought, if I just fish at the cove, I won't have to worry about that last part. Toothless will just be there to snag it anyways.

And speaking of said dragon, Hiccup noticed he was watching him, not in an overly cautious way but more of an oh-you're-here-again way. "Hey Toothless," the boy greeted as he perused over; Toothless backed away a little. "I brought breakfast for you; hope you're hungry." Hiccup should've figured that Toothless wouldn't know what "breakfast" was but he didn't care about that at the moment; he just wanted the accursed basket off his little shoulder. He also should've figured that a person of his size and stature should _carefully set _a heavy basket on the ground instead of _swinging_ it off like the bulky Vikings of Berk. Oh his shoulder was relieved to have the weight off but something about nearly falling back on his head didn't make the relief all that great. Hiccup shifted the tailfin to his other arm and planted a foot on the basket rim and (less than) skillfully kicked it over, spilling dead aquatic life over the ground. And thus came back the memory of eating regurgitated fish. "Okay, that's disgusting."

Even though his stomach was knotting up, Hiccup noted that Toothless seemed rather interested in the fish. Now to execute the plan he thought up all night: distract Toothless with fish, attach tailfin, pray to not die. Genius. "Well, let's see here," Hiccup began inching around the pile of fish as Toothless approached it, "we've got salmon," he kept inching, "some nice Icelandic cod," almost there, "and a whole smoked eel." And almost as soon as those words left his lips, Toothless backed off, making a clicking sound in the back of his throat. Hiccup froze just as quickly and knelt down to grab the apparently offending dead fish. He picked up with his index finger and thumb and pulled it from the pile of fish; Toothless backed away again with a hiss/growl sound. Which didn't sit well with Hiccup's already jumpy nerves. "No? No!" And after a few more stuttered "no"s, he flung the eel to the side and reached out to calm the Night Fury; he snorted and shook his head at the smell. "Yeah, I don't like eel much either," Hiccup said, wiping eel slime off on his tunic. He was, from now on, always going to make sure to throw back eel.

Once Toothless was munching on the rest of the fish, Hiccup felt safe enough to keep inching back towards the end of his tail. "That's it," he didn't really know why he was talking, "don't mind me," he shifted his creation to the ground, "I'll just be back here, minding my own business." Hiccup cast a quick glance at Toothless before crouching down and positioning the artificial tailfin parallel to the remaining one. However, before he could buckle it on, Toothless shifted his tail; the boy looked back at him. Hiccup wasn't the least bit surprised to see the dragon making half-devoured fish do flips in the air before catching it in razor-sharp fangs. Honestly, he'd be more surprised if he wasn't playing his food. Regardless, Hiccup inched the artificial fin back to the scaly tail only to have it move away again. "Hey, it's okay," he (at least _tried_ to) convinced. Okay, the constant tail shifting was _not _going to work. If he wanted to get this done in time for dragon training, something had to change.

Hiccup planted both hands on Toothless's tail only to have it _keep squirming away! _He was getting really irritated with this game. And just when he thought he had it, Toothless moved forward which slid his tail out of the boy's grasp. Oh this was approaching the 'not even worth it' mark. But the guilt bit at him again, looking back at the missing fin. Obviously he wasn't going anywhere until it was on. With a sigh, Hiccup shifted himself _onto _Toothless's tail and quickly buckled the artificial fin on before Toothless could move again. He tightened the leather straps for a snug fit and sat back to look at his work, spreading the leather fin. It measured out about right, nearly identical to the pre-existing fin in dimensions; not the same color but that was a trivial matter. "Looks good," Hiccup remarked, nodding in approval. "It works, everything looks-."

And without a hint of warning, Hiccup felt the ground fall out from underneath him and several yards below; this resulted in a manly scream. He clung to Toothless's tail for dear life, since falling from this height could obviously take that from him and he preferred to not die from falling hundreds of feet; how would that be explained? Even though knowing death was one slip away, Hiccup couldn't help but notice how different things already looked from this height. It also made him remember how small he actually was in such a big place. Talk about a reality check. His heart skipped a few beats (and not in the good way) as he felt his entire body shifted to the right very uneasily, like Toothless was trying to turn a different direction. Oh wait, he needed a second tailfin for that. Hiccup glanced at the ground that looked like it was coming to greet them and could swear to Odin that he blanched. He turned back to the leather tailfin in front of him. This was definitely not the way he wanted to test this thing out!

Even so, he grasped the leather and, with air pressure not making it any easier, tore it open, just in time to have the tip of his boots skid across the ground before being ripped back into the air. Hiccup gulped as the ground fell farther out of view but adrenaline was running overtime in his system. He was actually flying! So what if it was by another being's power, he was still flying! And it was all kinds of exhilarating. The higher they went, the smaller everything became. Things that used to tower over him now looked like they could fit in the palm of his hand. Was this what the dragons saw every time they flew? Because if it was, Hiccup envied them. And for a time, his mind went blank. All he could was hold on and watch in awe as everything flew past, tiny in comparison to their actual height. However, a slight jerk shook him from his stupor and he realized how far from the cove they were getting. Hiccup hardly recognized the area they were headed to; that wasn't a good sign. With a hard tug, he pulled the fin to a near vertical position, causing Toothless to veer heavily to the right.

As the cove came back into sight, Hiccup wondered if any other human had ever experienced what he had though he doubted it. Going up so high, covering so much area in such a short span of time; one would have to befriend a dragon to do that. My village could never do that, he thought bitterly. He vigorously shook his head, dispelling all thoughts of Berk and its residents. Why did he have to be such a downer? He had accomplished something major! That sense of achievement wasn't supposed to be blotted out by such depressing thoughts! He'd given Toothless flight again and got a small glimpse into what flying was like! Hiccup tore his gaze away from the scenery around and to the tailfin he had a hold of. Something that looked so simple had so much of an impact; it was almost unreal. Enough so that he couldn't stop himself from exclaiming, "Yes! I did it!" Oh he was all kinds of ecstatic!

Until he was abruptly flung off. Toothless must've realized that he was attached to his tail because Hiccup was swung to the right, causing him to lose his grip and fly off. He would've worried more but he noted that he would land, less than gracefully, into the lake. To which he did, but with a few skips along the way: first on his rear and then on his face before sinking into the water. Even then, his heart was still pounding from that. He would've thought he was dreaming but since he had already been whacked in the face _and _soaked by water, he was well aware that he was awake. Though the water hampered his senses, Hiccup was pretty sure he heard a crash; his only guess was Toothless. Had he hit the lake like him or had he made friends with the ground? Again? Hiccup kicked his feet and broke the surface of the lake. Sure enough, several feet away, was Toothless, looking rather grumpy and agitated. He was trying to shake off his wings; Hiccup assumed he didn't enjoy being wet. Typical dragon he supposed. Even so, he let out a cheer in glee and, for once, only laughed when Toothless glared at him.

**A/N: So it's a little longer than my other chapters and maybe not as well done. I don't know, you tell me. Even so, this one is done AND I'll have an original chapter up next! It's good to be back!**


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